Radcliffe Bailey (American, 1968-2023)

Blacknuss
Mixed media on wood
1995
60.4 in. x 60 in. x 3.8 in. / 153.4 cm. x 152.4 cm. x 9.5 cm.
Signed and titled by the artist on the reverse.

Provenance:
– Private collection, New York
– Rago auction, May 17, 2008, lot 46.

Radcliffe Bailey was a prolific American artist whose work blurred the lines between painting, sculpture, and assemblage, creating powerful visual narratives that explore the depth of African American history, ancestry, and collective memory. Drawing on his personal experiences and family history, Bailey acted as a “vessel” for a greater cultural consciousness, transforming found objects and imagery into layered, textured compositions that resonate with universal themes of migration, struggle, and resilience.
Bailey approached his two-dimensional surfaces with a sculptor’s sensibility, building layers of paint, photographs, and various materials to evoke the sedimentation of memory over time. He seamlessly integrated found objects—such as family tintypes, traditional African sculptures, sheet music, piano keys, into his works, creating a rich, tactile experience that invites viewers to uncover hidden meanings within the composition.
Inspired by a family photo album given to him by his grandmother, Bailey used photographs of his ancestors to ground his work in personal narrative, connecting individual identity to the broader African diaspora.